Mustang. Unpaved roads have been expanded in all five wards of Loghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality in Upper Mustang. The lack of a bridge in one ward of the municipality has been a problem for locals and tourists for years.
Connected by the main highway road from Loghekar Damodarkunda-1 Charang to Loghekar Damodarkunda-5 across the Kaligandaki, the ‘Dhye’ river, a confluence of the Kaligandaki River, connecting Dhye and Tangya villages, has made it difficult for citizens and tourists in the area to travel during the rainy season.
A tourist trail connecting Nafu in Manang passes through Charang in Mustang, crossing the ‘Dhye’ river and passing through Dhye and Tangya villages. The need for a bridge was felt there as there is a short-distance tourist trail from Upper Mustang to Manang via Dhye and Tyangya.
Although the need for a bridge on the ‘Dhye’ river, a confluence of other tributary rivers including the North Korala Pass and Damodarkunda, has been felt for a long time, no bridge has been built there yet. Pasang Gurung, Ward Chairman of Loghekar Damodarkunda-5, informed that there is a problem due to the lack of a bridge on the Kaligandaki ‘Dhye’ river, which connects Dhyegaun and Tangya villages with the rural municipality center Charang and Korala road.
Dhye and Tangya villages have been facing problems in commuting to the municipal center and the district headquarters Jomsom due to the lack of a bridge on the ‘Dhye’ river. “During the rainy season, the flow of the Kaligandaki Dhyekhola is high, and it is not possible to cross the river,” said Ward Chairman Gurung. “For three to four months during the rainy season, it is like a complete blockade in our village. Without a bridge, we cannot even move around.”
Ward Chairman Gurung said that the lack of a bridge has caused problems in marketing agricultural produce and livestock production in the geographically remote Dhye and Tangya villages. ‘During the rainy season, the river becomes too big to cross,’ he said. ‘In the winter, when the river recedes, we have to cross it.’
From the municipal center Charang along the main highway, one can go downhill for an hour, cross the Dhyekhola, and then climb up for a few minutes to reach Dhye and Tangya villages. Although these two villages are connected by a dirt road, the lack of a bridge over the Dhyekhola has posed a problem.
Ward Chairman Gurung mentioned that the citizens of the area transport food and daily necessities during the rainy season only after the river level recedes in the winter and store them. After federalization, the rural municipality had been taking the initiative to build a bridge here to connect Loghekar Damodarkunda-1 and 5. A scientific study and survey were also conducted for the construction of the bridge over the Dhyekhola, which is spread over a distance of about 500 meters.
The problem arose because the government did not allocate budget for the bridge even though two government agencies had prepared the Detailed Project Report (DPR). The citizens of the area, who depend on agriculture and animal husbandry, are hoping that the government will build the bridge.
The Directorate of Infrastructure Development had earlier prepared the DPR for the construction of the bridge connecting Dhye and Tangya villages. The Local Infrastructure Department (DOLI) had also conducted a survey for the construction of a bridge at Dhyekhola.
Lopsang Chomphel Bista, chairman of Loghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality, said that despite repeated attempts to build a bridge at Dhyekhola, it could not be built. He said that the bridge could not be built due to lack of necessary budget.
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